SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained – Thor

SMITE: Demigods, Deities and Gods Explained is a column dedicated to introducing prospective players of SMITE to its massive back story of lore. From the Greek to Hindu, each week we’ll look at two characters from a major pantheon and provide a quick recap of their history and in what capacity their digital incarnation will represent on the field of Hi-Rez Studios’ upcoming MOBA.

Lore: To call Thor’s history well documented would do a massive injustice to the annals of history. Told, retold, modified for the culture of choice and ultimately made into a comic super hero, Thor’s legacy is perhaps without equal in today’s popular culture. In some respects, we celebrate the mighty Norse god every week with Thursday (Thor’s Day). And no, his beginning wasn’t humble by any means.

Fathered by the All-Father, Odin, the red-haired and red-bearded Thor is husband to the goddess Sif and lover to Járnsaxa. Between these two women, he is said to have fathered the potential valkyrie, Thrúd, and Magni, respectively. The god of thunder shares his fame with his powerful hammer, Mjölnir. Like many of his pantheonic relatives, Thor carries an assortment of named accoutrements, the belt Megingjörð, iron gloves Járngreipr, and the staff Gríðarvölr.

His heroic deeds are many. Struggles with the Frost Giants fathered by Ymir, battles with the world serpent Jörmungandr and a role in the legendary event of Ragnarök are just a few of the notches on his belt.

In-Game: Thor is a physical melee character with a range of support abilities, including a massively-ranged stun and path-denying capabilities. Ultimate aside, his abilities do not receive major bonuses from stacking physical power making a pure build of that type unwise. Instead, players should attempt to maximize his utility and pseudo-tanking to harry enemies in lane and team fights.

It’s tough to lane as Thor in the early game. Be patient and poke minions and gods with Mjolnir´s Attunement as you level your effective standard attack and other abilities. Don’t get overly aggressive with Anvil of Dawn. Due to the nature of SMITE your friendlies may not see you initiating from such a distance, leaving you out to dry when you expect backup.

Thor is often best built tanky, especially due to his early weakness. Thor does the most damage when itemized with AoE items, such as slows, physical protection reduction and increasing his attack speed, physical power and health. The combination will make the god of thunder and lightning difficult to bring down, yet incredibly dangerous to leave alive.